Is the truth too much?
by Capitu Santiago
Summary: Can a truth spoken on a game be too devastating for Arnold to handle? (Post TJM)


"Helga?" Rhonda asked carefully, as if she was touching a beast with a stick.

"What?" she grunted in response.

"It's your turn now." Rhonda pointed at the bottle in the middle of the room. The top of it was in her direction.

"Oh… great." Helga said, without any hint of excitement. The only reason she had agreed to go to this awful sixth grade party was because Arnold had convinced her it would be nice. Yeah, how nice it is to stare at other people playing a stupid game just to get a stupid gossip or a stupid kiss. She was starting to regret her decision. "Truth, whatever."

A naughty smirk appeared in Rhonda's face and Helga's eyes widened. Did Rhonda knew anything about her that Helga herself did not had any idea? Criminy, if she did, it would be the end of her life.

"Is Arnold the only guy you've ever kissed?"

Helga froze in time. No, he wasn't, but what would she answer? Would he be upset or relieved if she told the truth? She looked at the other side of the room to see Arnold and noticed that he was staring at the ground, blushing heavily. She glared at Rhonda and rolled her eyes.

"Really, Rhonda? Don't you have any kind of respect for other's privacy? What the hell is wrong with you?"

The girl just brushed her off. "Answer the question, that's the game."

"Fine, you channel-wearing demon!" Rhonda put her hand on her chest and her mouth went agape. She was clearly insulted. Helga sighed. "No, he is not."

All her classmates seemed surprised, and then suddenly the surprise turned into whispers that she could not figure out exactly what they said. She had heard "who?", "when?" and "where?". Unfortunely for them, she wouldn't answer any of those questions.

"I think you are lying, Helga." Rhonda finally spoke above all of the whispers.

Helga lifted one side of her eyebrow. "Why would I lie about that?"

"Maybe because you don't want Arnold to be the only guy you've ever kissed."

Arnold eyed Helga quizzically, looking confused. The truth was that so was Helga.

"Oh c'mon, Princess! I thought you were smarter than that!" Helga laughed, trying to seem confident about her words. Again, Rhonda was insulted. "Arnold and I are okay now and I wouldn't be bothered if he was the only boy I've ever kissed! But he is not, so that's that."

Arnold gave her a weak smile. Yet, for some reason she couldn't quite put a finger on, he seemed sad.

"Yeah, but…" Rhonda started.

"Man, can we just continue the game?! Do you guys, really want to know how many boys were crazy enough to let Helga smooch them? Cu'z I know I don't!" Gerald almost screamed.

"GERALD!" Arnold, looking a bit angry, finally spoke. He gave a soft punch on his best friend's forearm while Helga mouthed a soundless "t _hank you!_ " to Gerald. She knew that he had insulted her just to make everyone laugh and forget about the subject. It worked.

"Okay, so let's see who is next!" Helga said, spinning the bottle once again.

"Hey, Helga, wait up!" Arnold said, running after her when she left Rhonda's house. "Can I take you home?"

Helga smiled softly. He was so perfect. "Whatever floats your boat, Football Head."

He grinned. The nickname did not annoyed him in a long time.

The walk seemed really quiet until Arnold realized that Helga was shivering. He took off his coat and put over her shoulders. She glared at him while holding the coat, preventing it to fall off. "You don't need to-"

"I want to." He interrupted her, grinning. Helga's cheeks turned into a bright shade of red that the boy was almost sure it was not because of the weather. "So… who?"

"Who?" Helga asked, disoriented.

"The guy!"

"I didn't told Phoebe, why would I tell you?" She was starting to get mad. It was not a big deal, anyways.

He knew she wasn't trying to be mean, but he was hurt anyways. "Because I am asking incredibly nicely…?"

"Nice try, bucko."

"Seriously, Helga, we are friends! You can tell me about these things."

 ** _Friends._** The word stood on the girl's mind like glue, making her heart ache. She was happy they were at least something, but almost is never enough, is it? Besides, Arnold did not usually pressed people to tell their secrets if it wasn't for their safety or well-being. Why was he being so insistent? Unless… was he jealous? Helga smirked, determined to test something.

"I will tell you if you promise not to laugh."

"Why would I-"

"Brainy."

Arnold eyes widened. "Brainy?!"

"Yup." Helga was calm as a summer breeze.

"But you used to sock him all the time! When did this even happen?!" Arnold freaked out. He knew Helga had this very unique way to express her feelings, but… Brainy? Was he that dense?

"Well, when we were at San Lorenzo he gave this…" Helga exitated. She didn't felt like mentioning the locket at all. It was still something so personal for her, a symbolization of her heart. "special thing of mine back to me. I thought I had lost it, he found and I was so excited I kissed him. More like a "thank you so much" kiss, no big deal."

Arnold suddenly stopped walking. "S-San Lorenzo?" he stuttered, in a very low voice "B-but you said y-you… you loved me in San Lorenzo. A-and I k-kissed you too."

Helga stopped walking and turned to him, afraid of where this was going. "Yeah… " her tone almost inaudible.

His mouth was shaking and yet that did not stop him from screaming. "You _lied_ to me?!"

Helga stood there for a second, dumbfounded. She had told him in the FTI rooftop about the most crazy things she had already done like the shrines and the poetry. And then everything they went through in the jungle! How could he _dare_ to doubt her feelings?

" **NO**!" Her hands were closed into fists while she stared at him.

Arnold walked up towards her looking at Helga in the eyes. "Then why did you kiss him?"

"You had rejected me, Arnoldo!" she spoke with much hurt in her voice. "Besides, it meant nothing. It was just-"

"Heat of the moment?" He said, lifting his eyebrows.

She clenched her teeth "Oh, are you quoting yourself in fourth grade, right now? Great memory you have for such a weird shaped brain!" Before he could say something, Helga continued. "Then let me remind you of some other things: "You didn't really mean all those things, did you, Helga? You actually hate me, right?". Those were your exact words, though you knew it wasn't truth! So, yeah, I was rejected twice! By the same guy! Can I hear a congratulations, everybody?!" She said, revolving around herself with her arms open.

"I was scared, okay? And I didn't reject you in San Lorenzo! Even though I was not ready for all of that, I cared about you! Helga, I care deeply about you, so you can't blame me for being jealous!" There, he had finally admitted. Arnold was jealous of Brainy.

"I was also jealous of Lila when you liked her liked her and I didn't interrogate you about it!" Oh well, she had admitted it too.

"I didn't know how you felt!" Arnold was outraged. He was almost on his tiptoes facing Helga, their faces close to each other's.

"I _still_ don't know how you feel!" Helga took one step forward, making their noses touch.

"Really? It is not obvious that I love you?!" Arnold was screaming from the top of his lungs. He did not care about hiding this anymore, what was even the point?

"Not as obvious as the fact that I love you too!" Helga was screaming too, her blood boiling.

Then they stopped, their faces softening. The realization that they had both just confessed hitting them along with the fact that their lips were really close. Arnold could see Helga's diamond eyes widened in surprise, while his became half-lidded. He placed his hands on her waist, pulling her body closer carefully. Her eyes started to close when she cupped his face. As soon as their lips touched, they realized that it was different this time. It was not rushed or in the "heat of the moment". Their half-open mouths moved slowly not exactly being sure of what to do. The only thing they knew was that it was full of love.

When the air of their lungs was over, they parted their lips. Arnold stood on his tiptoes, giving a soft peck on Helga's nose and that made her giggle. "I love you, Helga."

"I love you too, Arnold."


End file.
